09/09/2026
When your roads are water, knowing how to build a good boat isn't a hobby, it's survival.
Loyalist settlers brought shipbuilding knowledge to the Bahamas, and Abaco became particularly famous for the craft. Historical research indicates that by the mid-1800s, Abaco had developed into one of the country’s most important boatbuilding centers.
Sloops, schooners and dinghies carried people, mail, produce, sponges and cargo from island to island and far beyond.
The tradition became especially famous on Man-O-War Cay, where generations of builders developed boats prized throughout the Bahamas.
So when boats slide through Little Harbour today, they're following in the wake of centuries of Abaconian craftsmanship.